There Will Come Soft Rains
by pieman560
Summary: Death, destruction, and torture have all become life in the new DC. While struggling with this new world, Zack finds Bailey and together they uncover a terrible secret. T for language and horrific scenes. Check the teaser for a better summary.
1. Enter Wasteland

**I do not own Suite Life, Fallout 3 or any other characters/settings that may turn up in this story of survival, loss, death, horror, and slavation.**

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Time can get away from you when you're on a teen cruise with your brother and a lot of friends. Sometimes things that are significant seem unimportant. That's exactly what it was like for Zack Martin. In the last leg of the trip for the Semester at Sea when they had about a week left and the only port left was there last, Boston, things happened that should have seemed significant to the passengers and crew, but were blown off as if they were nothing. They would often see several exhaust trails in the sky at once, heading in every known direction. Most thought this was a bit queer, but dismissed it as nothing more than military testing. Just hours after the first trail, land stopped making contact. Again, no one glanced twice at this.

That is, until they docked. When they docked in Boston, there was no Boston, just a smoldering crater that glowed like a glow-stick on a drug high. Here and there they spotted hollowed out husks of buildings, but other than that, there was no sign of life whatsoever. Finally, everyone aboard the S.S. Tipton realized just what they had blown off.

The war with Russia, China, and Palestine, otherwise known as the Four Powers War, had escalated to new heights. It finally reached breaking point and at the climax, each of the 4 major countries in the war launched every nuclear device they had. Just about every other country excluding Mexico, those in South America, and those in Australia, which had stayed out of the war, had sided with one of the four super-powers that were fighting and launched their nuclear weapons as well. The planet had become a living hell in a matter of hours.

Realizing this, everyone decided to stay aboard and see if they could find a bit more intact of a dock. After going several miles south, they came upon Washington DC. It was a barren Wasteland devoid of vegetation. Luckily for the passengers, it was not completely gone. Buildings still stood, though most were just shells of their former selves. The Potomac River was not burned away so the ship sailed on. After going a few miles inland, they found what seemed to be a settlement along the river. Mr. Moesby and the rest of the crew, along with a few passengers, went to scout it out. Zack, Cody, and Bailey stayed aboard, fearing that the settlement was not all that it seemed.

An hour had passed since Moesby and the others had entered the settlement and they had not made contact yet so Cody decided to lead another party in to investigate. Zack and Bailey decided to go with him because they trusted in Cody's quick thinking to get them out of trouble.

The group set out and came to the gate leading into the settlement, made out of solid steel plates crudely put together. Cody slowly pushed it open and they walked inside. Immediately, a group of humans, all in their early to mid twenties jumped out and attacked the group with crude flaming swords and baseball bats with spikes on them and all manner of other weaponry. Three of them grabbed Cody and started beating him with bats, axes, sledgehammers, and the like. He desperately tried to fight back, but was outnumbered, outgunned, and overpowered. Zack jumped on one of the men's backs and ripped his mask off. They started struggling for control of the man's weapon. Zack grabbed the man's wrist and started to pound him in the head with his own weapon. The man double over in pain and passed out, his head bleeding badly. Zack ripped the spiked bat out of his hands and tried to save Cody but it was already too late. Only Bailey, Zack, Woody, and London were left to watch the horror that ensued, which they couldn't stop.

They stood stone still in fear and anger as the men ripped Cody to pieces and beat him into a pulp with their crudely horrific weapons. The gang somehow regained their sense of self-preservation and bolted back through the gate. They headed for the ship, only to find more of the murderous cannibals slaughtering the remaining people on the ship and burning it down.

All they could think of doing was running. They didn't need to look back to know that the killers were following them. They stumbled upon a gun store that hadn't been looted yet and smashed the window. Once inside, they grabbed whatever they could find and grabbed ammo for the weapons and ran into the cellar, locking the door behind them.

Inside, they found a few other survivors who had hidden in there. They explained the situation and the other survivors grabbed weapons and prepared to help the friends fend off the "Raiders" as the others called them. They heard footsteps and cursing overhead and shouldered their weapons, ready to fire. Zack ran up and unlatched the bolt locking the cellar shut and pushed the door open. Everyone rushed out to be greeted by people in bulky, metal armor with blinking lights on it. The survivors stooped and told the friends to stop as well because these people helped people like them. The armored soldiers introduced themselves as the "Brotherhood of Steel" an organization devoted to the study and development of technology and the salvation of those in the Wasteland with good will. They were apparently the remnants of the U.S. Army and tried desperately to maintain as much order as they could in the hell that had become of Washington DC. They offered protection as long as they agreed to help the Brotherhood's cause. Fight the Good Fight as they called it.

Everything seemed to have become a little bit better for the survivors.

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**Ok, first chapter of a new story. This is not connected to my other story from the Suite Life series, it is its own story. It will also be very long because it is about struggles in life after the death of a world. I know it may seem to get better from the end of the chapter, but believe, this story is not for the faint of heart. It doesn't seem gruesome now, but it will get bad, trust me. The Wasteland, as it is called, is all 8 levels of Hell on Earth at one time and yes there are 8 levels, the usual 7 and then the one that is the setting for this story, irradiated, nuclear, post-apocalyptic United States. Thanks for reading, please review I want to know your thoughts. I love suggestions. I think that's it.**

** Thanks - Pie**


	2. Life is Death

_A few months after the ship made land…_

He went through his usual routine of checking his shack for bugs and other listening devices or hidden cameras. No need to let the bad guys keep their eyes and ears. Once he believed it was safe, he opened the fridge and grabbed the box of cereal. The fridge was one of his greatest finds while out venturing in the wastes. It hadn't been destroyed and the lead lining kept the food relatively radioactive-free. Most would slaughter villages for this luxury, but he wasn't part of a village. No need to put risk on other people. Innocent people.

Zack was loved by few and hated by many. He had gained a reputation of never failing through the odd jobs he did here and there for the two main factions of the post-apocalyptic Washington D.C., the Brotherhood and the Purifiers. The purifiers were hell-bent on purebred human domination. They believed that anyone with any hint of radiation was inferior to them and deserved to die, which is why they never venture outside without their powered suits of armor on. He had been sent on retrievals, assassinations, reconnaissance, sabotage, and assorted other things. Each and every time, no matter who the job was for, he turned it in on time and never missed a shot.

His arsenal consisted of a rifle with a sound dampener (just in case) and a grenade launcher (for special occasions), a sniper's rifle, some explosive ordnance (i.e. grenades, plastic explosives like C4 and semtex), and a large katana originally meant to be a collector's item. He had placed mines around his house that detonated on contact to keep out unwanted outsiders since he was the only one who knew his way through the maze of death. Another rare find was his armor, a shielded power suit that he chanced upon in an old abandoned lab underneath the Pentagon, now partially leveled. His favorite feature was the built-in shield that (although it was still in its experimental stage) deflected most small-arms fire and recharged relatively quickly. Though it seemed to have been running low on energy as of, Zack still had faith in it. Compared to most, he was a walking army and extremely well equipped and defended considering most people guarded what was left of their houses with a broken stick and a single bullet.

Today, he wanted to pay a special visit to a few people who had caused him immense grief a few months back. He picked up his sniper rifle and slung it across his back, picked up his assault rifle, and headed out for a dish he was always told was best served cold. Revenge.

The road to the raider's encampment on the Potomac was a bit of a walk but the quickest route was to walk through an old suburb in which the main street ran adjacent to the river. After following the street to its end where it met the barren wastes of sand again, he would slowly merge until he was walking along the river itself and follow it the rest of the way down to the campsite. Zack made sure to pack snacks.

It took a while but Zack finally came across the bridge that signified the end of his island territory and the way back to the mainland. His shack was located on an island in the middle of a small lake that was on the other side of the suburb, opposite the Potomac, and it was raised well above the water, as was the suburb. The exception being that the beach on the suburb's side was a gentle slope whereas his island's was a sharp cliff. A pedestrian bridge spanned the distance in between since the island was too small for several cars or buildings and was used more as a park back before hell became life.

He crossed, most uneventfully, and began his journey through a prime example of the dying world he lived in. The buildings that still stood were inhabited by people who were so skinny they made the Ethiopians look morbidly obese. They twitched at everything that moved and weakly held onto their children and some to their weapons, which were nothing more than sharp sticks and crude slingshots with pebbles. These people looked as if they should already be dead and yet they still clung to life. Why? Was there love in this hell somewhere? Was there still hope left in the masses?

Deep down Zack wanted desperately to help these people but he knew he couldn't because once he saved one family he wouldn't stop. He didn't have the land to house and maintain such a large family. He pressed on through the city, trying his best not to look at the people walking outside to view this outsider who made the only noise along the desolate streets. Not even the wind dared to whisper where this living man walked among the dead. They were soulless; no drive in life other than humanly instincts to survive. He still wondered if there was more to it but he forced himself to shut the thought down.

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After walking for about three hours, Zack came upon the river. _Only a few more miles now_, he thought. He continued down the river, waiting for the telltale pikes atop the roofs and the stench of foul death to become apparent. Those omens marked his presence in the Raiders' territory and marked a time for vigilance. If he wasn't alert at the most crucial time in the entire op, he would lose his chance and most likely his life. Not good.

Almost to the camp, Zack popped open an energy drink and drained it in seconds, burping a little loudly for the present situation after he finished it. Even the sun seemed to have an upbeat air surrounding it; though it was the very thing most people feared the most. Searing heat and blinding light were its only gifts and people have forgotten how much of a blessing those were when the world was alive. Only a few months it had been since the warheads launched from all known landmasses and most oceanic territories were brought down upon each and everyone else. That's when he spotted it. The rotting death trap that was base of operations to evil men with dead spirits. They killed for fun, they killed in a way we watch TV now. It was something they did because it consumed their time and made them forget all that it was to be in this desolate land. They were compared to death himself in how much life they took. He set up camp on a ridge overlooking the hellhole and slept away the few remaining hours of daylight. Come nighttime, he had work to do.

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**Uhm... hi everybody. Long time no post yet again huh? Yeah I was in the process of transferring my late night ideas over onto my Mac form my laptop and I cam across an almost-finished chapter for my post-apocalyptic story. I had decided a while back that I didn't like where the story had gone (and informed you all of this notion in one of my more recent author's notes) and was going to rewrite it. Well this was my attempt at doing so and before you say it, yes I know it was basically a very fleshed out description of a few things on the march to vengeance. Oh freaking well, I like it. Next chapter he will be planning, setting up, and executing his assault and we'll see where Zack goes from there. I'm trying to make my stories a little lengthier because I finally realized after around my 3rd or 4th one-shot/unfinished chapter idea that I was going for quantity over quality and as thus have decided to add lots more detail and story and plot and all-around goodie goodness to my stories from now on. What bugs me is that I have so many ideas for where a story can go but they all take place later in the plot and you can't just jump from place to place like that. Or at least I can't function like that, I'm not sure. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this and you can expect an update to Recollections quite soon and I will be posting one-shots and ideas wondering if you like them and want me to turn them into full-fledged (that has to be my 10th hyphen good lord) stories. Thank you all and to all a good night. Or day if you're in the Eastern Hemisphere. I love you all.**

**- Ryan**


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